Dáil debates

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Priority Questions

Community Employment Schemes

1:00 pm

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 1: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will outline the findings of the reviews she commissioned in relation to community employment schemes; the schemes that have been earmarked for closure and cuts in materials and training grants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20721/12]

Photo of Aengus Ó SnodaighAengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the conclusions of her review of community employment schemes; if she will restore funding to the 2011 level; her plans for the future of CE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20723/12]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

The Department's estimated overall expenditure on employment support schemes in 2012 is €983 million, which represents an increase of almost €121 million on the 2011 figure. Some €315 million has been provided for community employment this year in respect of some 23,300 participants. In addition, approximately 1,400 supervisors are paid by the Department. The Department is engaged in two reviews that impact on community employment. One of them is a review of labour market activation schemes generally and the other is a financial review of community employment schemes that aims to secure savings in the expenditure on materials and training grants in 2012, compared to 2011. After changes to the training and materials grant for community employment schemes were announced in budget 2012, I made a commitment that no scheme would close pending the completion of the financial review. This financial review is now nearing completion. To date, no scheme has been closed as a result of reductions to the materials and training grants. The review has proved to be a valuable exercise for the schemes and for the Department. The review is now close to completion. Given the volume and breadth of the data being returned by community employment sponsors, no final allocations of materials and training grants will be determined pending its completion. Community employment sponsors are working with the Department's community development officers to ensure adequate funding is available for the continuation of their projects.

Deputies are aware that the current economic circumstances have forced the Department to find significant savings in its 2012 budget. In the case of community employment, the reduction in the grant for materials and training represents a reduction of 7.5% of the overall expenditure on community employment in 2011. The allowance grants for supervisors are unchanged, as are the working hours for staff employed under community employment. There has been no decrease in the number of community employment places allocated in 2012. It is not possible to restore funding to 2011 levels. The baseline amount of the materials and training grant remains €500 per participant, as announced in the budget. However, the Department has discretion to make up to €1,000 per participant available to schemes in respect of the training and materials grant, subject to individual schemes providing a clear and transparent demonstration of the need for this level of funding. The onus is on sponsors to make the case for the appropriate grant levels for their individual schemes. The level of grant sought will have to be justified by the scheme sponsor and will be subject to verification and agreement by the Department on a case by case basis. Discussions with sponsors on these matters are being conducted in a constructive manner. Support is being provided to help the schemes remain viable. The existing commitment in relation to the financial support of schemes will continue to apply pending the full completion of the review process. We have also been working on reducing the fixed costs that have to be met in operating the community employment programme. We have already obtained significant savings in the cost of insurance to sponsors. We are confident of obtaining similar reductions in the areas of accountancy fees and bank charges.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

A policy review of activation measures is under way. This review will be completed in the next few months. There is a role for schemes that are primarily directed towards the provision of crucial social services to disadvantaged communities, such as child care, elderly care and drug treatment programmes. The intrinsic value of these schemes needs to be more broadly recognised in terms of the economic contribution made by the provision of these services, which otherwise would fall back on the State to provide at a much higher cost. When both reviews are completed, it is my intention to have a stakeholders' seminar on community employment, most probably to take place in June or July.

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am disappointed with the Minister's response, primarily because of the lack of information in it. Essentially, she summarised where we have been over the last couple of months on this issue. I tabled this question because I wanted to receive some information. I understood we would receive this report at the end of March. The Minister has said that the assessment is nearing completion. I suggest that the volume of work involved in the assessment means it will not be completed in the Department of Social Protection for a couple of months. We could be well into the summer by then. The Minister has told the schemes they can make the case for the funding they are receiving at the moment. I am sure most of them are doing that. If she wants to achieve the budget cut that she announced on budget day, will she have to implement that entire cut in the second half of the year? That would be a severe situation for those involved. Schemes are rolling forward all the time. What will happen to schemes that are commencing at the moment? I refer to those that commenced in the last month or two or will commence in the next month or two. I would like some clarification on where they are, in relation to their grants.

The Minister mentioned the position of sponsors. She asked individual sponsors to do a great deal of work when she sought financial information from them. Some of them are having difficulty providing that information. The Minister is putting a tremendous workload on small organisations with minuscule budgets, such as local tidy towns committees. The new procedures she mentioned will also impose extra costs on them. Can the Minister guarantee that the number of people who are currently working on community employment schemes and the number of supervisors will be maintained?

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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As the Deputy is probably aware, the schemes transferred from the old FÁS to my Department on 1 January last. I am determined that the important social contribution of community employment schemes, in delivering social services in communities across the country, will be recognised. I am keen to ensure those who participate in the scheme enjoy good experiences which help them to get back to work or education and training. That is really important. The transfer of the former FÁS staff who were working on these schemes to the Department of Social Protection, where they have become departmental community services officers and employment officers, is probably one of the biggest reforms ever to be undertaken in the Irish public service. Under the Croke Park agreement, some 1,700 people, including HSE and FÁS officials, have transferred. As I said in my reply, more than 23,000 people are participating in schemes alongside approximately 1,400 supervisors.

A great deal of valuable work is being completed by the officials who used to work in FÁS but are now working in the Department of Social Protection, in conjunction with the sponsors and the community employment supervisors. Everybody is aware that this country is enduring a period of acute unemployment. We have to ensure not only that we continue the valuable social services and other services that are supplied by these schemes, but also that the people on the schemes enjoy quality experiences. Those who have become unemployed more recently should also get an opportunity to take part in community employment schemes. Overall expenditure on labour supports like community employment, including JobBridge and Tús, both of which are being availed of by some community organisations, has increased this year. Dialogue with the scheme sponsors and supervisors is really important in ensuring that we build better schemes.

Photo of Aengus Ó SnodaighAengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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In December, the Government dropped a bombshell in regard to CE scheme participants and sponsor groups. The Minister then ran for cover using the review that was announced. There was to be a report in March but we now hear it could be a number of weeks or months before it is produced. Perhaps it will never be produced. Does the Minister accept that, for many CE schemes to survive at all, funding must be restored to 2011 levels? The funding for 2011 had already been cut in many ways. Can the Minister confirm that a second and more secretive review is under way on the part of the Department on foot of promises made to the troika and is being conducted without any consultation with the unions, CE participants or projects? It concerns the very future of community employment.

Is the Minister aware that, irrespective of reviews, the Government has already had a devastating effect on community employment? Across Dublin, in respect of child care courses in particular, community employment scheme supervisors are highlighting difficulties associated with filling vacancies. This is as a direct consequence of the Government's cuts to lone parent payments. Participation on community employment schemes is particularly unaffordable. Is the Minister aware that many projects are against the wall as a consequence of the Minister's budget cuts? Progression-focused training is barely happening now, with the consequence that participants will in many cases go back on the dole at the end of their term with few, if any, qualifications, or with half qualifications.

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The second review to which the Deputy referred is a policy review of activation measures that are under way. This review will be completed in the next few months. It takes into account all the headings, including community employment, under the labour support measures valued at just under €1 billion. The expenditure of €1 billion by the Department of Social Protection on labour support and employment measures, returning people to education, Tús, JobBridge, community employment schemes and a variety of other schemes is very significant and important.

The Deputy referred to the IMF. When the previous Government brought in the IMF and did its deal with it, it presented all the review papers across every department that were in production at the time. Many good people were working in FÁS but the actions of some of its staff seriously damaged the brand. The former Government decided to take FÁS out of the jobs and enterprise category and put it into the education category with a view to responsibility being transferred to the Department of Social Protection. That is what has happened.

Our activity is not just because of the troika. We are spending €1 billion and need to ensure the continuation of service delivery, good experience for the people on the schemes and value for money. There is no difficulty in seeking value for money in these times.

The Deputy referred to double payments for certain categories of people. For instance, somebody on a community employment scheme could have been getting a full CE scheme payment and a full individual social welfare payment. In some cases, this amounted to approximately €450 per week, on which one had only to pay PRSI, not taxation, for 19.5 hours of work. This is quite expensive for the Department. There are many working full-time, even in the public service, who do not get €450 per week after paying tax and PRSI.

We need an honest discussion about the costs involved. We must try to meet three objectives: service delivery, good experience for the participant, and value for money.